Toro Rosso launches STR5 in Valencia
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Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastian Buemi with their new car |
Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost says that 2010 is a "landmark" year for his team as for the first time they have designed and built their own Formula One car.
The team unveiled their STR5 at Valencia on Monday morning, displaying the double-decker diffuser and a shark fin engine cover very similar to that incorporated on the new McLaren.
"2010 is a landmark year for Scuderia Toro Rosso as the new regulations demand that we go it alone in terms of designing and building our car in-house," said Tost.
"After four years of working in collaboration with Red Bull Technology, the TR5 is the first car that is one hundred percent down to our own endeavors.
"Creating the necessary infrastructure to tackle this task has been our biggest challenge, possibly more difficult than actually producing the car itself. We have taken on an additional eighty staff and expanded our facility to accommodate them, including a Machine Shop to increase our production capacity.
"In addition, we have commissioned a wind tunnel in Bicester, England, which we bought from Red Bull. It will take time for the highly skilled team we have assembled to learn to work together as efficiently as possible.
"Making predictions for the coming season is a dangerous trap, but if pushed, I would say we must aim to finish in the top eight in the Constructors' Championship, while giving our young drivers everything they need to improve, as well as optimizing our infrastructure in order to be as competitive as possible in 2010 and beyond."
Sebastien Buemi will complete the first laps in the STR5 as he takes to the Valencia circuit on Monday morning. And although his teammate Jaime Alguersuari was present for the unveiling, the Spaniard will only be in action on Wednesday.